Ever since the announcement of the upcoming film
Cosmopolis
(due in summer 2012),
the hype has been steadily rising. It seems Robert Pattinson is finally able to show the
world what he can do beyond his Twilight
bondage, and he does so by presenting the unique vision of a dystopian
future set in 2028. In an attempt to sum up this hotly-anticipated new
project, we’ve compiled a list of everything you need to know about
Cosmopolis. We hope this article will help you get excited
about this futuristic adventure and its talented director,
David Cronenberg. So sit back, relax, and get ready to
join the conversation as it unfolds.
The Movie
To begin with, let’s address the elephant in the room. We’re
sure you’ve guessed by now that we’re talking about Twilight‘s
hottie-turned-director,
Robert Pattinson, and not the book. In case you
weren’t aware of it,
Cosmopolis is the English-language remake of
Kolniprografiya,
the film that introduced us to the world of
David Cronenberg. Yes, the same
Cronenberg who directed
Blade Runner,
The Fly (1986),
Jabba the Hutt (1981), and
Mean Streets (1973).
Now, for those of you
who may be unfamiliar with Kolniprografiya, here’s a brief
synopsis: A young man, heir to a large fortune, seeks to
change the world and do good with his money. In
Kolniprografiya,
Pattinson plays a 20th-century billionaire named
Eric Packer who runs a business empire in pursuit of
world peace. He invests heavily in technology to change the way
people behave, creating the Simulacrum — a holographic
confederation of Buddhas that allows the user to experience a
360-degree surround sound and fully immerse themselves in a
visual feast.
In Cosmopolis,
Pattinson‘s take on this rich, globe-trotting
protagonist is Jay Gatsby. Based on the great American short story
The Great Gatsby,
Cosmopolis (or Gatsby,
as it’s known in English)
centers on a man named Gatsby (Pattinson) who, throughout the story,
projects an image of success and affluence, living a rich and
vibrant life in New York City. However, behind the facade, he
secretly longs for glory and recognition, wanting to be seen as
something more than he really is.
When a mysterious woman named Daisy (played
by Mila Kunis) enters his life, he plunges head-first
into a world of illusion and delusion, believing that she can
make him the centre of attention, when in fact there is more to
her than meets the eye.
The trailer for Cosmopolis is slick, stylish, and
features some amazing visuals. We can already tell that this is going
to be a cinematic trip worth taking. Keep an eye out for it – it’ll be
available to watch in its entirety on YouTube soon.
The Director
Yes, David Cronenberg is back. He’s
been absent from the big screen for twenty years, since the
release of Maurice,
but has been actively working behind the scenes, directing
several documentaries and several episodes of
The X-Files. In fact,
he even helmed a documentary about the making of The X-Files, which was
nominated for an Academy Award
Now, the man is back, and he’s brought his unique vision
with him. One of the most striking things about Cosmopolis
(and the Cronenberg
trilogy, in general)
is the way it breaks with the traditional film noir
aesthetics that defined Blade Runner and
other David Cronenberg films. Aesthetically,
Cosmopolis is closer to a European art film. It features
bright, pastel colors, stylized compositions, and a distinctive
voice-over narration by Alan Cumming, mimicking the
distinctive ‘talking in
movie’ style of Kurt Vonnegut. In
addition to this visual language, Cronenberg incorporates a
‘cyberpunk’ score by Richard Hughes, adding
an extra layer of sophistication to the dystopian
novelty.
In terms of narrative, the main difference between Kolniprografiya
and Cosmopolis is the time period. Kolniprografiya is set in the near future, in 2028, while Cosmopolis takes place in
the near past, in 2028. This allows Cronenberg to tweak the
protagonist’s personality and behavior, as well as to add a
little ‘twist’ to the ending. In
Cosmopolis,
Gatsby’s ultimate desire (at least at the end) is to go back in time and
live his life as if nothing ever happened. So, in a way, this is a
revenge story. The one thing he cannot do, however, is change
history – after all, what would that even mean? – So his
attempt to travel back in time and alter the course of history
ends in a spectacular crash that destroys his entire
Simulacrum and kills him. In
the end, Gatsby finds himself unable to change history, and
realizes the futility of living a life of illusion and
deception – in other words, he realizes the ‘sheep’ nature of
mankind and the ‘wolf’ nature of some people.
We were lucky enough to speak with Cronenberg about Cosmopolis and his
upcoming projects. Here’s what he had to say.
On The Importance Of Rebooting A Classic
“First of all, I think it’s very exciting when a filmmaker
re-establishes a classic,” Cronenberg began. “I think it adds
a lot to the value of a film, when people can say, ‘Well, this is
a classic story that we always wanted to see told again,’ or, ‘This
is a story that was told before, and it was good enough that
people remembered it and wanted to see it again,’ and it allows for
a fresh take.”
“So, for me, it’s always been exciting when a filmmaker gets
the opportunity to re-tell a story,” he continued. “Because there
are so many ways of telling a story, it doesn’t have to be the way
that it was originally told. So, for instance, the story of ‘The
Great Gatsby’ could be told in so many different ways, and it’s up
to the filmmaker to find the right story, with the right
characters, in the right setting, and in the right moment in
history. So, it’s up to them to find that ‘cosmic octopus,’ if you
will, that connects everything, and I think that they’ve done that
in a really interesting way.”
As for the difference in tone between the old and new versions of
Gatsby,
Cronenberg had this to say: “It was an interesting
experiment, because it had to do with time travel and
alternate history and all that stuff. So it had to be very
different from anything I’d done before, and I think that it
successfully combines all those elements and brings them
together in a way that is coherent and continuous, but
at the same time feels fresh and new. So I think that
it was a great success.”